Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, the Chicago Blackhawks Duncan Keith and Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber have been named finalists for the 2013-14 James Norris Memorial Trophy.
[b]Jaromir Jagr Rangers Jersey[/b] . The award is handed out annually to the NHLs top defenceman. Chara averaged a team-high 24:39 of ice time per game for the Bruins who allowed the second-fewest goals against in the NHL (177). He was top 10 among NHL blueliners in goals (17), plus-minus (+25), power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (3). Chara is a Norris Trophy finalist for the third time in the past four seasons, and sixth time overall. He won the Norris in 2008-09. Keith led all defencemen with 55 assists and ranked second with 61 points. He led the Hawks with an average of 24:38 per game. This is his second time as a Norris Trophy finalist, capturing the award in 2009-10. Weber topped all NHL rearguards with 23 goals, leading the Predators in scoring for the second consecutive season. He also topped all defencemen in power-play goals (12), and ranked fourth in the League in average ice-time (26:54). He is a Norris finalist for the third time after finishing as runner-up for the award in both 2010-11 and 2011-12.
[b]Brian Leetch Rangers Jersey[/b] .com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak.
[b]Marc Staal Jersey[/b] . The 34-year-old averaged 10.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 82 games played in 2013-14 with the Utah Jazz. Jefferson has averaged 14.5 points, 4.The Boston Bruins used a third-period rally to even their series against the Montreal Canadiens, while the Los Angeles Kings scored late to tie before winning in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks. Notes on Bergeron, Marchand, Gorges, Vanek, Gaborik, Doughty, Hiller and more. BRUINS STORM BACK TO TAKE GAME TWO The Boston Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit, scoring four unanswered goals, to win Game Two, 5-3 over the Montreal Canadiens. Midway through the third period, the Canadiens held a 3-1 lead, on the strength of two goals from Thomas Vanek, rebounding nicely from having his ice time cut in Game One, and one from defenceman Mike Weaver. While the Canadiens held a two-goal lead -- which apparently isnt remotely safe in this years playoffs -- they were losing the territorial battle quite handily and the game played out as a microcosm of why shot-based analysis makes sense. Sure, its possible that Carey Price could have continued standing on his head, making great save after great save, but the Bruins carried play, to the tune of 58.4% at even-strength, so odds were against holding them off. Thats not to say it cant happen. It happened in Game One and the Canadiens were 10 minutes away from escaping Boston with a 2-0 series lead, but when one side continues to generate chances, they usually start going in at some point. Which brings us the Bruins line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith; one of the best lines in hockey this season. Bergeron (1 G, 1 A) and Marchand (2 A) each had two points in the third-period comeback, and Smith put the exclamation point on it, burying the winning goal with 3:32 remaining. Bergeron now has eight points to lead the Bruins in the postseason. Canadiens D P.K. Subban, who assisted on both of Vaneks goals, lead the Habs with nine points in six playoff games. As for the territorial dominance, it was the Bruins third line that carried the play in that respect. Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg were on for 75% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts when they were on the ice. That tilted ice made it difficult for the Canadiens to sustain their lead. For the Habs, D Josh Gorges was a standout, on for 59.1% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts, as the Canadiens only had 34.7% of the 5-on-5 shots with Gorges off the ice. As much as the Canadiens have been dominated, possession-wise (getting 41.0% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts), through the first two games, they have to be satisfied with the results. They picked up a road split and head home for two, but also must realize that they will have to be dramatically better to withstand the onslaught they have faced from Boston. GABORIK DEAL PAYS DIVIDENDS Los Angeles Kings LW Marian Gaborik scored with seven seconds left in the third period to force overtime in Game One against the Anaheim Duckks, then 12:07 into the extra frame, he re-directed a pass from Anze Kopitar past Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller, giving the Kings a 3-2 win.
[b]New York Rangers Jerseys[/b]. (Thats right, Jonas Hiller, whose last start was April 6, got the Game One start for Anaheim, and stopped 33 of the 36 shots he faced.) Gaborik had two goals and an assist, giving him eight points in eight playoff games, prompting some discussion about his trade deadling acquisition from Columbus. I wrote about the deal at the time, suggesting that the opportunity to play with a dominant possession player like Kopitar would provide a chance for Gaborik to regain his scoring touch. After being held scoreless in his first three games with the Kings, Gaborik has 24 points in 24 (regular season plus playoff) games. Here are the highest-scoring players, with their new teams, among those that moved at this years trade deadline:Ales Hemsky, RW, Ottawa (4 G, 13 A)Marian Gaborik, LW, Los Angeles (5 G, 11 A)Thomas Vanek, RW, Montreal (6 G, 9 A)Brandon Pirri, C, Florida (7 G, 7 A)Matt Moulson, LW, Minnesota (6 G, 7 A)Ryan Callahan, RW, Tampa Bay (6 G, 5 A)Lee Stempniak, RW, Pittsburgh (4 G, 7 A)Calle Jarnkrok, C, Nashville (2 G, 7 A)Martin St. Louis, RW, N.Y. Rangers (1 G, 7 A) Kopitar picked up three assists to move into the playoff scoring lead, with 13 points. With assists on both Ducks goals, Ryan Getzlaf is up to a team-leading nine points in the postseason. With D Robyn Regehr injured in the first period, Kings D Drew Doughty played a game-high 33:06, while Alec Martinez -- who scored the games first goal -- logged a career-high 28:16. Doughty was a possession monster, and the Kings had 64.6% of the 5-on-5 shots when Doughty was on the ice, compared to 44.8% when Doughty was off the ice. Coming into the series, the Kings were expected to hold a decided advantage in puck possession, since they were the leagues best during the regular season, but the Ducks ran neck-and-neck with the Kings. At 5-on-5, they tied with 41 unblocked shot attempts. The Ducks line of Emerson Etem, Nick Bonino and Devante Smith-Pelly was on for more than 60% of the 5-on-5 shot attempts, when they were on the ice, despite starting the vast majority of their shifts in the defensive zone. They feasted on Kings D Slava Voynov, who was at the low-end (44.4%) of the possession spectrum for the Kings. That the Ducks could handle the possession game against Los Angeles was encouraging but, no matter how you slice it, losing a lead in the final 10 seconds is disheartening. Can they recover to salvage a home split in Game Two? Scott Cullen can be reached at
Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '
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